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TRP: Goro and Roddy (Groceries)
Word count: 2790 '''Muse: '''at 4:26 PM Shepard's Hills, Day 189/Jan 23. It turned out that having four people show up unexpectedly put quite a strain on Marion's (Grandma's?) pantry. Roddy'd volunteered to go get supplies, obediently nodded along when told to be careful, and headed out. It was a really small town. Roddy could think of dozens like this that he'd been through in his circus years. In fact he suspected this may have been one of them- there was this nagging sense of familiarity, though he couldn't put his finger down on anything in particular. So- best behavior. The store was easy enough to find, and Roddy'd got Marion to make a shopping list so he didn't forget anything. Soon enough he had his things together- and was sputtering indignantly at the price said. "Listen!" Roddy declared. "I know how much this stuff should cost, and what you're listing is twice that. That is highway robbery!" '''Coyote: '''at 4:34 PM The old woman at the counter squinted her eyes. “What, honey?” she said in a reedy, warbling, high-pitched voice. “Y’gotta speak clearly.” '''Muse: '''at 4:36 PM Well this was just his luck then. Getting a deaf person on top of blind apparently. "You're, charging, too, much," he said, leaning forwards. Making sure each word was loud and crisp. '''Coyote: '''at 4:39 PM Edna stared at him, blinking her filmy white eyes. Then she hollered into the back of the store. “Robert! Robbie, c’mere.” An enormous man shifted out of the back. “Yes, gramma?” he said. “This here... this here turtle fella... you see him? He’s a turtle, right? Go get your gramma her meds, sonny. I think I ate some moldy grain.” '''Muse: '''at 4:42 PM "Tortle, actually," Roddy corrected. Again. Apparently that was very hard for people to grasp. He gave a put upon sigh and drummed his fingers on the counter, but he'd wait. Least now he knew maybe who he could yell at if 'Gramma' kept being dense. '''Coyote: '''at 4:45 PM “He’s a toooooor-tle. Go get your Grammy her meds, Robbie.” “No, gramma,” Robert explained. “He really is a turtle. You ain’t ate any moldy bread.” His eyes shifted to Roddy. “Lissen. Iunno what the fuck kinda thing you are, but can you please just stop bothering my gramma and pay her. She’s got dementia. Be nice.” '''Muse: '''at 4:47 PM Well- hey. That was just rude now. "Look- Robbie," Roddy said, very reasonably (for the situation). "Your grandma seems to be a bit mistaken on how much I owe her. You've got your wits about you, surely you can see this doesn't cost that much." '''Coyote: '''at 4:50 PM “Yeah, yeah.” These fucking out-of-towners, always trying to scam them. “Look, just because my gramma’s old doesn’t mean you can lie to her about the price. Where are you from?” '''Muse: '''at 4:53 PM "Lately the Glimmerton area- hey. What's that matter?" Roddy asked, crossing his arms. "And I'm not lying to her- look- you do the adding up. You'll see- your grandma's just a little too old to be doing math." '''Coyote: '''at 5:00 PM “Uh huh,” Robert said slowly. “Well, her math looks right to me. Two silver for the flour.... five silver for the butter... five for the peach preserves... twelve copper for tax... and a gold for the out-of-town fee.” '''Muse: '''at 5:06 PM So that's how it was. Roddy bristled. Well. He wanted to play dirty- Roddy could do it better. "Hey now," he said, drumming a beat out on the countertop. Gave 'Robert' a winning smile, focusing on bending his thoughts a little bit more positive. "I'm sure there's no need for that," Roddy said. "I'm just hanging around for a few days, there's no need for that out of towner fee." '''Coyote: '''at 5:14 PM Huh. Robert really hated fucking out-of-towners. Especially freaks like this who thought they could just move in and raise families here, taking up good normal human’s land, and buy and sell things to take people’s money. They always looked down on him, too, like he was kind’ve stupid village peasant. And, Silvanus, he hated monsters like this. Ugly turtle thing. Pretentious. And then, suddenly, Robert felt a wave of calming, friendly energy pass over him. Oh, he thought. Maybe he was being too hasty. Maybe... maybe it was kind of racist to hate people just for being a different species. In fact, Robert thought suddenly, looking around, this whole town was kind of racist. Wow. It had to be awful for people like this turtle— Excuse me, tortle, not turtle, Robert thought. It was probably pretty rude to call him a turtle when he was a tortle. Dismissive of his whole species, actually. Anyway, it had to be... so difficult for this brave tortle. Coming into town and getting scowled at and pushed away like no one wanted him here. In fact, this entire interaction had changed Robert’s entire point of view. He wanted to... to help the poor monsters, now. The tortles, and the half-elves, and sure, even the orcs. It wasn’t their fault they were different. Couldn’t everyone just get along? “You know what?” Robert said. “You’re right. I’m so sorry. Here. Take your stuff for free.” Wow. Now that he thought about it, this entire town was really racist. He needed to tell everyone. They all needed to make a change. '''Muse: '''at 5:22 PM Hey. That worked way better than Roddy was expecting. "You are the best," he said, reaching out and patting Robert's shoulder. "Thank you very much." Now- he better hurry before the spell wore off and Robert got mad. He gathered up the supplies, stuffing them in his magic haversack, and headed for the door. Brisk walk for now- but he'd better be prepared to run. '''Coyote: '''at 5:28 PM There were a few moments of silence. Then Robert started to howl, “Scammers! Thieves! Liars! Monsters! That thing— that ugly turtle thing, he witched me! He witched me!” '''Lina: '''at 7:35 PM That ugly turtle thing. Goro sighed. He'd been on his way to the tavern to pick up some whiskey, but on hearing that, he changed course and walked toward the grocery, where the yelling was coming from. He stepped through the door just as Roddy was about to step out of it. '''Muse: '''at 7:39 PM "Oh hey Goro- we should run," Roddy said, stepping around him to do just that. '''Lina: '''at 7:41 PM "Ey, ey, not so fast." Goro grabbed onto Roddy's arm--not that he was really strong enough to keep him from going anywhere, but as a symbolic gesture. "If you run, they'll just chase you, genius." '''Coyote: '''at 7:46 PM Robert came thundering out of the store. He looked a little startled to see Roddy had stopped. His eyes rested on Goro. “Fuckin’ good, stoppin’ that bastard. Thank y...” Then he trailed off, spotting Goro’s ears. His eyes narrowed. “Thanks,” he grunted. '''Muse: '''at 7:51 PM Roddy stopped at Goro's gesture. Wanted to say something about how they couldn't catch him- but Robert came racing out first. Yeah maybe not then. "Hey," he snapped. "You were overcharging and you know it." Shot Goro a questioning look. What was the plan then, if not 'run'. '''Lina: '''at 7:57 PM Goro patted Roddy on the arm, then smiled pleasantly at the shopkeeper. God, he hated these people so--fucking--much. He'd been on his best fucking behavior the whole time he was here, and that was saying a lot. He'd been polite everywhere he went. He'd healed their ugly kids. He hadn't put up a fuss when they gouged him while he tried to buy supplies. (Unlike some people, it would seem.) And still, they took one look at his ears, and more often than not their smiles turned to scowls. "I am so sorry," he said to the shopkeeper, with a slight bow. "My friend here--" Goro turned to Roddy and rattled off some quick nonsense in Infernal. Roddy wouldn't understand it, but neither would the shopkeeper; he wouldn't even know what language it was, most likely. Goro turned back to him. "My friend here, he comes from the land of, uh, Morningstar Island. It's very far away, off the coast, you see. He's new to our ways, the ways of civilized folk. They don't buy and sell there with currency, so much as... trade in good faith. Isn't that right, Roddy? You know I've tried to explain to you before, how it works with gold and silver pieces, yes?" Goro shook his head sadly. '''Coyote: '''at 8:04 PM Robert crossed his arms. “Is that so?” he said, looking at Roddy. From over by the store’s door, Edna called in a tremoring voice, “That man’s a turtle, Robbie. A turtle came into the store today. Heavens.” '''Muse: '''at 8:10 PM If that wasn't the biggest and most full of it lie he'd ever heard out of Goro's mouth. "Ah, sorry," he said, adopting a contrite look. "My friend has explained it but I'm afraid I am a slow learner." '''Coyote: '''at 8:13 PM “Yeah, yeah. Just pay the three gold and we’ll call it even.” '''Lina: '''at 8:15 PM Goro looked at Roddy expectantly. "C'mon," he said. "It's the right thing to do." Which was code for I hate these fucking people and hope Raef comes back to skin the whole town someday, but look, we can't afford to cause trouble as long as Hansel's living nearby. Maybe that got through, maybe not. '''Muse: '''at 8:18 PM Roddy bristled. This was not right, that was highway robbery, and Roddy did not want to give these people a copper. (Except maybe what he legitimately owed, maybe he'd fork over that much.) "You know I may not be good at trading," he said slowly, locking eyes with Robert, "but I don't believe it is a good faith gesture to charge extra for being out of towners." '''Lina: '''at 8:20 PM "Shh, that's, god, just--" Goro was already digging inside his robes for his own money. He pulled out three gold and passed them to the shopkeeper with a tense smile. '''Coyote: '''at 8:46 PM Robert didn’t stop scowling. His eyes shifted from Goro to Marion’s house in the distance. Finally, he grunted and shoved the coins in his pocket, then lumbered inside. “You know, I used to be a witch, too,” Edna said. Then she wandered back inside, clutching her cane. '''Muse: '''at 8:53 PM "Nobody asked you," Roddy grumbled under his breath, hopefully too quiet for anyone but Goro to hear. Ugh. Just- ugh. At this whole town. "C'mon then, let's go," he said, turning and stomping back towards the Granger farm. Mental note: never visit Shepard's Hills unless absolutely necessary. '''Lina: '''at 8:58 PM Goro kept glancing over his shoulder as they walked, making sure no one was coming after them. He'd have to come back for the whiskey later; make sure Roddy was safely at the house and any potential commotion had died down. '''Muse: '''at 9:00 PM Freakin- townspeople. Charging extra just for- for being out of towners. UGH! "Can you believe them!?" he exploded- once they were out of earshot from the townsfolk. "You know he strait up admitted that there was a whole extra gold just for an 'out of town fee'. These- people! Aargh!" he flailed his arms around. "I just wanna- wanna punch someone!" '''Lina: '''at 9:04 PM "Look, buddy, I feel ya. I do. But you gotta punch a tree, or something. The way these people are--god, I know, they don't deserve our money, they don't deserve our good manners, they don't deserve shit except to be given a hard time, but--any trouble you cause up there in town, it's gonna come back to bite Marion and Leigh in the ass. And that's not even telling what it'll do to Hansel. They already don't like him. We gotta do everything we can not to make things worse." '''Muse: '''at 9:07 PM Roddy made a strangled, incoherent noise of rage. You know what- punching a tree did sound good. He veered off the path and towards a big oak and gave a wild swing. It sent a bolt of pain up his arm. Roddy yelped in pain, shaking his hand. Yeah- there was a reason he usually avoided punching people. '''Lina: '''at 9:08 PM Goro stopped walking to wait. "Uh. You alright there, pal?" '''Muse: '''at 9:10 PM "Yes!" Roddy snapped. Flexed his hand a little. Yeah- it was just sore, little scraped, no serious damage. "Just- mad," he said shortly. '''Lina: '''at 9:12 PM "Good," Goro said. "Good. You fucking should be. Just... yeah, don't let it out where those assholes can see." He jerked his thumb back in the direction of town. '''Muse: '''at 9:14 PM Roddy nodded. Yeah. Don't cause any trouble. Smart but... it rankled. "Thanks. For- stepping in. Might have done something dumb." '''Lina: '''at 9:16 PM "Ah, yeah. Don't mention it. I'm just glad I happened to be around when I was." Goro kicked a rock and watched it roll a few feet. '''Muse: '''at 9:24 PM Roddy turned, studying Goro a little. He seemed- off a little too. "You uh, you- okay?" he asked tentatively. '''Lina: '''at 9:28 PM Goro crossed his arms, shook his head, and hissed through his teeth. "It's just some fucking bullshit, you know? Those people--they're the ones who are wrong, they're the ones who are full of shit, but they get to win. They get to have things exactly how they want, because otherwise, it's people like you and me and your dad who take shit for it. Fucking pisses me off. It's not right." '''Muse: '''at 9:33 PM "Don't have to tell me," Roddy said. Wasn't the first time he'd been called an 'ugly turtle monster'. "Used to just- leave it behind you know? One town was a bust- clean 'em out best we can and move on. Run away." Roddy crossed his arms, glaring back at the town. "Guess I got tired of running." '''Lina: '''at 9:42 PM "Well, you don't have to run anymore, right? People in Glimmerton are fine with us." 'Cept maybe the town guard, but... well. "This place is just a stopover. They don't matter, not really." Goro didn't really fucking believe that. These were the people who'd murdered Hansel's father. But fuck, wasn't much to be done about it. '''Muse: '''at 9:50 PM "Yeah." And Skyport didn't seem to have much against tortles either. But the main thing... "Dad's gonna have to put up with it though," he said. Had, growing up. Made Roddy wonder what it had been like- while at the same time not sure if he wanted to find out. '''Lina: '''at 10:04 PM "Yup." Goro nodded, eyes on the ground. "Yup, he fucking is. And I hate it. But you know, it's a testament to how fucking much he wants to be here, I guess. He's willing to put up with it." '''Muse: '''at 10:11 PM Roddy was getting that feeling again. That something was bugging Goro. "You know- Dad said it was just temporary," Roddy said slowly, watching to see if- this seemed to be helping or not. "He told me that there wasn't much- to do at the castle. It was driving him nuts. I guess I can get that. Even if I would rather he come back," he finished, muttering. Felt like a betrayal, admitting it aloud. Wouldn't dare say it to Hansel. Goro though. Seemed like Goro'd get it. '''Lina: '''at 10:12 PM Goro nodded again. "Yep, we're in the same boat, there. I know this is... what he needs right now, even if I don't like it one fucking bit." He glanced up at Roddy. "Brave of you to say it." He mumbled it quickly, for plausible deniability. '''Muse: '''at 10:25 PM This should be a- good moment. Roddy was getting along with Goro, bonding even. This was what he was trying for. Instead he could feel that mix of suspicion, distrust, even a little hostility bubbling up again. "We should get back," he said abruptly, heading for Marion's house again. Maybe he'd go- pet the goats or something. Try to calm down again. Not think about- this. '''Lina: '''at 10:28 PM Goro watched Roddy stalking off for a moment before following. "Yeah," he said under his breath. Who knew what that was fuckin' about. '''Muse: '''at 10:34 PM END Title: Groceries Summary: Roddy gets into a tiff with shopkeepers who overcharge him in Shepherd Hills. Goro intervenes before things get ugly, and the two of them talk about the town's racism. Category:Text Roleplay